Police suspect an "inside job" after 24 cash boxes containing nearly $2000 were stolen from Connectabus' Arrowtown depot early yesterday morning.
Constable Jason Reid, of Queenstown, said security camera footage from the company's Bush Creek Rd office went blank at 2.55am.
"My belief is the burglar is someone with inside knowledge," Const Reid said.
The cash boxes - minus daily $80 floats - were found a short time later by a member of the public who spotted them strewn alongside bus timetables and money bags in scrub on Tucker Beach Rd.
Police were following "a couple of potential leads", Const Reid said.
He said it was "hard to say" whether the burglary was connected to a spate of other break ins and thefts from cars in Arrowtown and Quail Rise.
At 3am, a Quail Rise homeowner saw a man fleeing the property after stealing food, clothing and 32 bottles of wine from the garage.
Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen a late 1980s or early 1990s Ford Telstar or Toyota Corona sedan, coloured silver or light blue, that was spotted in the area.
About 4am, four cars in Devon St, Arrowtown, all parked in driveways and all unlocked, were broken into. A small amount of change was taken from one car.
Another burglary in Quail Rise about the same time was being investigated, along with the other incidents, he said.
